Switched
by PenetratingBlackEyes
Summary: During a fight Slade and Robin switch bodies. What will happen when Slade has full control over the clueless Titans? And what will Robin do stuck in Slade's body?
1. Begin and Scatter

**Disclaimer: **To whoever actually thinks that I own Teen Titans, or anything else I write about…you're an idiot. And I hate you. Because of your stupidity, and your inability to take a hint, I am forever forced to write these ridiculous disclaimers that forever depress me. Plus I don't want a lawyer on my ass. So, for the final time: I DON'T OWN TEEN TITANS! OR NARUTO! OR AS OF A FEW MINUTES AGO, INKHEART! RAWR!

**A/N: **That came out longer than expected. Anyways, this story is a bit of a 'what if?' story. Constant amusement (for me). Expect lots of writer's blocks. Oh, and this chapter – no, this ENTIRE story is dedicated to Dlvvanzor! Love you; keep up the good work!

* * *

**Switched **

**Chapter 1**

There wasn't a sound as I scaled the back of the building. My robots, or Sladebots followed me. I didn't normally bring so many with me for a simple break-in mission, but I need to be more careful now that I am mortal. Also, there was a high chance there would be trouble. After all, it wasn't any ordinary building I was breaking into. It was Titans Tower.

I stop as I reach my destination. I'm clinging to the back of the Tower, and I know that on the other side of the wall is the Tower's elevator shaft. Beyond that would be a corridor that connected the operations room to the Titans' bedrooms. I know the Tower layout by heart. At the very top, as just described, is the ops room and bedrooms. The floor below that is the monitor room, and the next floor is the Danger Room where the Titans practice with their powers and hone their skills. The floor below the Danger Room is the Gym, the next the Evidence Room, followed by the Crime Lab, otherwise known as Robin's 'real' room. How often I had watched him in there, kneeling over his worktables, and staring at the many newspaper clippings tacked to the walls. It was amusing to know the only real reason he spent so much time in there was because of me. Below the Crime Lab is the Infirmary, then the massive Entrance Hall. Below that in the island itself is the garage, the T-sub launch area, and the basement. But I wasn't going to any of those rooms. My target was the ops room.

I motioned for a Sladebot who began cutting a square hole into the wall. The alarms were already taken care of. As soon as my Sladebot was done with the wall it entered the elevator shaft where it triggered the door into opening. I soundlessly passed and made my way into the operations room. Pulling out several phials filled with clear liquid I started to make my way over to the fridge. My Sladebots followed.

Wait. What was that? I stopped and listened, then turned around. Robin was standing in the doorway, a look of shock on his face. It was quickly replaced by anger. "Slade…."

"Robin." His hand automatically moved to trigger the alarm, but stopped when I chuckled, "Do you honestly think I haven't taken care of that?"

His armed dropped to his side and he glared at me, his teeth clenched. "What are you doing here? I told you-"

"That nothing had changed? That if you ever saw me again you'd attack with full force, without holding back? I know, Robin."

"Good," he pulled out a bo-staff. "Then I don't have to repeat it."

He lunged at me and I easily side-stepped him, pulling out my own bo-staff. I continued to parry his attacks; he lunged right, he lunged left, and there was an opening. I struck him in the stomach, and he gasped and stumbled back. I smiled beneath the mask. Robin – no matter how far he progresses, he still makes the same mistakes. It's a shame. He really would have benefited from my training.

In front of me he shakily stands. I don't give him time to ready himself, before I pick him up and throw him at the opposite wall. He hits with a dull thud, and movement begins to sound from the other Titans' bedrooms. Better take this fight further away before they show. Grabbing him again, I walk to the exit, and toss his small frame down the stairs.

"Robin!' comes a cry from the corner. It's the alien. I pay her no heed and follow Robin's tumbling form down the stairwell. She attempts to follow, but is cut off by a Sladebot.

I take my time walking and when I reach the next floor Robin has disappeared. Is he trying to take me by surprise? I smile cynically, and begin walking down the hallway.

"Are you hiding from me Robin?" I call to the darkness. "Are you afraid?"

No response. He's not on this floor. I ignore the crashes and screams coming from above and make my way down the stairs. A fist flies out of the shadows, and I skillfully twist it behind the owner's back. Robin inhales sharply.

I lower my head to his ear. "You've become predictable, Robin. Soft."

He grits his teeth and twists out of my grasp, spinning and throwing a punch. I allow it to hit me, then deftly grab his wrist, twisting it cruelly until I hear the bones snap. Robin screams in pain, and falls to the floor, clutching his broken wrist.

For a second I was surprised. _Mildly _surprised. I hadn't thought I would go that far with him. I never head before. I'd come close, many times, but never actually taken the plunge.

Daddy spanks his son, but doesn't belt him.

I squatted down next to him. His unbroken hand was clawing at the floor trying to push his body up. It was a pitiful display. Robin, the-Boy-Wonder-hero-of-the-people-one-man-SWAT-team, groveling on the ground like a cockroach. I pull him up by the back of his cape, and set him against the wall, then walk away to the next stairwell. Robin can join me once he's pulled himself together.

I don't have to wait long for him to join me outside the Gym. Mercifully, the pathetic, mewling teenager from before is gone and Robin is back, his face carefully set to mask the pain from his wrist, now strapped to his side. He crouches into a fighting stance.

I cock an eyebrow. "Going to fight me one-handed, Robin? How foo-"

_**BAM!**_

The ground shakes and crumbles around me; my body falling back; I see green, first large, then it's gone, and I'm plummeting downward, my body flailing; debris fall with me: pieces of the floor, a Sladebot-

The bottom of Robin's combat boot connects with my mask. He's falling beside me, and the floor continues to give away.

The green shape from before manifests itself in bull, then an eagle –

The Sladebot Beast Boy hit comes crashing down; red light blasts and hits me on the side; now I'm tangled up with Robin, and we're falling faster, faster –

Both our bodies hit the stand in the Evidence Room at once; I feel something small pressing into my back; can see Robin's face; then the small object breaks and Robin's face is gone, replaced by a blinding white light.

Then pain. Then darkness.

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**A/N: **Note to self – Cannot write in first person. I knew that, yet I tried anyway. Trust me, it will not happen again. Oh, and that is the actual layout of Titans Tower, atleast according to the 'Fear Itself' DVD. Also, this story takes place just after the end of Season 4. I'm not sure if people picked that up from the 'now that I am mortal' comment. I'm not expecting many since I know my first chapters always suck, but please review. Laters.

-PenetratingBlackEyes


	2. Break in Breakdown

**Disclaimer:** Hey, guess what? I own Teen Titans! NOT.

**A/N:** I apologize profusely for the delay of this chapter. Laziness and ADD are a deadly combination. A big thanks to everyone who reviewed chapter one though! Alas, this chapter is extremely short. I'm sorry! It was originally going to be longer, but sometimes that's just the way things work out. And also, this chapter serves as a warning: Don't write at 3:22 AM!

_"I wept in my dreams.  
I dreamed you lay in the grave;  
I awoke, and the tears  
still poured down my cheeks._

_I wept in my dreams,  
I dreamed you had left me;  
I awoke and I went on weeping  
long and bitterly._

_I wept in my dreams,  
I dreamed you were still kind to me;  
I awoke, and still  
the flow of my tears streams on."_

- Heinrich Heine

* * *

**Switched **

**Chapter 2**

A breeze softly ruffled Robin's hair. He glanced slowly around. He was in a field. How strange.

"Robin!"

He turned toward the voice. Starfire was running slowly toward him, her red hair streaming out behind her. Robin melted in happiness. She looked so beautiful… She reached him and he shyly took her hand. Starfire blushed lightly and kissed him on the cheek. Robin laughed and pulled her closer. Behind Starfire, Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Raven stood grinning. They started to dance.

Robin wanted to join them. He tried to convey this to Starfire, but she merely laughed and kissed him on the cheek again. Covering his eyes with her hands, she slowly lowered her lips to his…

"Do you like that, Robin?"

Robin opened his eyes. The field was gone. He was standing at the rim of a volcano; magma boiled beneath and popped in small bursts, casting a flickering light over the surrounding darkness. It looked like he was in hell.

"Do you like that, Robin?" the voice repeated behind him.

Robin turned. Slade faced him. "Do you like that, Robin?" it said again, "do you? Do you like being with them? Do you like being their Robin?"

It looked down. So did Robin. They were now floating above the center of the volcano. No, not floating, they were standing on a tightrope. Robin saw the lava below him and began to shake. Slade was talking again.

"You can go down there, Robin. You can be their Robin forever. They're all waiting for you: Your friends, your family, _him._" It started to back away from Robin and with each step it took flame followed, burning the rope. "They're waiting for you, Robin. They want to dance with you. Dance, dance, and fly away!"

"No," Robin whispered, feeling the rope starting to break; the flames were licking eagerly at the woven material, and below the magma hissed. Robin started to cry. But he could really feel the tears – he wasn't wearing his mask. He wasn't wearing anything.

Slade was now at the very end of the line, standing a step away from the safe edge of the volcano. "Go be their Robin," it said and stepped away.

The rope broke.

"NO!" Robin shrieked, "NO, TAKE ME WITH YOU!"

He started falling, screaming and sobbing, he fell past the field where all his loved ones were dancing happily; he fell to Slade.

The creature raised its head and removed its mask, revealing the long awaited face…but there wasn't a face. There wasn't anything. It was just a gaping, black hole that was sucking Robin; stealing the warmth from him, stealing him in to live in the black, empty darkness forever –

Robin gasped and sat bolt upright, but then immediately lay back down. His back hurt. Everything hurt.

He inclined his head and looked about the room. He didn't recognize it. What had happened?

Night. Sleep. Slade. Pain. Slade. Pain.

It hurt to think. What about Slade?

He was distracted by the sound of footsteps. A door to the right of him opened and an elderly man entered. Robin didn't recognize him either. Not a good sign.

The man glanced at him, walked around the side of the bed to a stand of some sort, and busied himself with a syringe. He turned to Robin.

"So, you're awake, sir?"

_Sir?_ Robin tried to speak, ask where he was, but his throat felt like it was made of sandpaper. He croaked something indistinguishable.

The old man clicked his tongue, and got a glass of water. He held it to Robin's mouth, and he drank hurriedly. Some spilled out of his mouth and the man wiped it away.

Robin cleared his throat. "Who are you?" he asked. His voice sounded strange, almost familiar. (_Of course it's familiar, it's my voice, focus._) Robin took a deep breath, and continued, "Where am I?"

Classic hostage questions. Was he a hostage?

The man was frowning at him. "It's just me, Will, sir," he said, "You're home." His voice lowered and Robin couldn't tell if he was still talking to him, or to himself. Robin only caught snatches of what he was saying.

"Slight amnesia?…. quite a fight…. if the Sladebots hadn't caught him…."

The water in Robin's stomach churned unpleasantly. _Sladebots…? Was that what he said? Sladebots!?_

Sladebots. Slade. Tower. Fight. Slade.

Robin felt sweat slick on his face. He raised a shaking hand to wipe it off, but froze. There was hair on his face. There was _hair _on _his _face.

Robin hands were shaking, and his breathing quickened. He felt it again, then, not caring, ripped out a few whiskers.

The hairs were white.

Robin stared at them, then felt his face again. It wasn't his. It was different, rougher.

That wasn't his hair. These weren't his hands. This wasn't his body.

Robin was making small sobbing sounds without realizing it. The old man took a step forward, and Robin lost his head completely, thrashing out of the bed.

He landed on cold floor, pushed himself up, and scrambled for the door. The stranger yelled something after him, but Robin was running and didn't hear.

He burst out of a corridor into a large chamber. He recognized it.

Robin started crying (_Crying mask falling dancing)_ and stumbled forward on legs that weren't his. He ran faster under churning gears, and then skidded to a halt before ceiling-high screens.

He saw his reflection and screamed.

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**A/N: **Poor Robin. First I break his wrist, and now this. A lot of you might not understand how Robin acted in this chapter, but it'll be explained later. It's really not that big a deal. Please review! They make me happy.

-PenetratingBlackEyes


	3. Da Ba Dee

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Teen Titans.

**A/N: **I know. I suck. I think it's been a year. Wow.

But I want to talk about the dream in the last chapter (if anyone remembers it). I think I was planning to do this in the next chapter, but changed my mind. So, here goes.

I tried to put a lot of themes into that dream.

1.) The field. It doesn't mean too much; I just needed a "happy" setting. In my head it doesn't actually look too happy though. Go figure. Set beneath a black sky the field is inside a circle of trees. You can't see them; they're just vague outlines. I don't know if I was thinking of wheat or something in the field…it just looks like overgrown yellow grass. Everything seems very blurred and hazy, but peaceful.

2.) The Titans dancing. Or actually, Beast Boy, Raven, and Cyborg dancing in a circle around Starfire and Robin. Robin wanted to join them so the circle would be complete.

3.) Starfire about to kiss Robin. Obviously, this has to do with Robin's romantic feelings for Starfire, plus I needed to have Robin have his eyes covered somehow.

4.) The next setting, where the dream turns into a nightmare. Like I said it looked like hell. The volcano was important for the next part.

5.) I called Slade an "it." This was based on Robin's own fear of Slade. Slade is…like an unbeatable demon to Robin. He's the monster under the bed. The thing that keeps Robin up at night.

6.) They're standing above the volcano. Over boiling hot lava. On a tightrope. Do I really need to explain?

7.) Ummm. Slade's next words. "You can go down there, Robin. You can be their Robin forever. They're all waiting for you: Your friends, your family, _him__."_ Everyone Robin cares about is waiting in the lava. Doesn't Robin want to be with them instead of up here with the monster? Hm. At this point, Slade starts backing away from Robin, and with every step he takes the rope burns. "They're waiting for your Robin. They want to dance with you. Dance, dance, and fly away!" I was sort of referring to the dancing from before. Do you still want to complete the circle Robin?

8.) Robin whispered "No" while he felt the rope breaking. He's afraid, and he starts crying. Except he realizes he's not wearing his mask. He's not wearing anything. Slade always sees right through him. I'm praying with all my might that there isn't some SladexRobin fanatic reading this who interpreted that as something sexual. For the record, I will never write SladexRobin. NEVER. I have intense feelings of dislike bordering on hatred for this pairing.

9.) Slade's about to step off the rope. "Go be their Robin." He's not pursuing Robin. He's actually letting him go. Isn't that what Robin wants?

10.) The rope breaks. Robin betrays himself; the fear of falling overpowers the knowledge that his loved ones are there and he screams at Slade "take me with you."

11.) He starts falling. And though I don't think I described this in the chapter, the setting changes again. Poof, volcano's gone. He's falling down a sort of dark tunnel, like…dare I say it?….a well. He passes his loved ones. They're in the field, dancing happily, in a complete circle. (Mental images of Batman dancing…rofl. Crap, I just killed the serious mood.)

12.) Robin's still falling, screaming and sobbing, and now Slade appears below him. I actually didn't realize this till now, but this scene played out very differently in my head. I pictured it like Slade's head was gigantic and Robin was going to fall into his mouth or something. Even though I didn't write it like that. And didn't even make the connection that they were different until now. Sometimes I really embarrass myself. Seriously, I'm always so out of reality that my body runs entirely on autopilot. Case and point: Today, I needed to go down to the basement, but ended up going into the garage 3 times in a row before _finally_ heading down to the basement. Why? I hadn't been down to the basement in months, but went out to the garage pretty much every day. And even though I realized my mistake right after my first trip into the garage, I still did it another two times. That's bad. I really need to get it together. But, I seem to have wandered off topic…right okay…ahem, so Robin's falling and Slade's below him, and Slade takes off his mask, something Robin has probably been envisioning for ages, but…there's nothing there. There isn't a face. Because Slade's an enigma. And this non-face…thing is sucking Robin down into its darkness (For some reason I was thinking about dementors while writing this) where he'll live forever in loneliness and despair. After all, Robin did beg Slade to take him with him.

And then Robin wakes up. Whew. So hopefully you'll understand that better now, although most of it was a bit obvious.

"_Keep your broken arm inside your sleeve." _– Chinese proverb

"_Without the mask/ where will you hide?"_ – 'Everybody's Fool' by Evanescence

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**Switched **

**Chapter 3**

"Robin? Robin?"

Slade groaned. It sounded like someone was yelling directly into his ear.

"Robin? Is he all right? When will he awake?"

"Starfire, calm down. Robin's fine. He should wake up soon."

"But, Cyborg – his injuries…"

"Star, relax. Slade broke Robin's wrist, but Raven's healed that up pretty well. Then he just has bruises from the fall."

"Don't forget that according to Beast Boy there was also a 'big white light.' That could have caused lasting damage."

"Hey! I'm just telling you what I saw!"

"And I'm just telling you that your input about this 'white light' counts for very little."

"Raven!"

Slade grudgingly pried his eyes open. Anything to stop the deafening voices. A ceiling swam into view. His vision was blurry. He groaned again and pushed himself up into a sitting position. His head was pounding and his limbs were stiff.

"Will," he called croakily, "Will."

The door opened and Starfire ran in.

"Robin!" she cried joyously.

Slade barely had time to register what she had said before his bones were being crushed in a hug.

"Oh, dear friend, I was beginning to wonder when you'd ever awake!" she said, shaking him.

"_Friend"? "Robin"?_

"We have all been so worried about you! Slade got away, and then you would not awake –"

"'_Slade got away?'"_

" - and he broke your wrist, but Raven healed you, and Cyborg says your bruises should heal in a few days – "

_'When was the last time you got sleep?Halluncination?No my bones are about to breakwhere's WillTitansaliencallingmeRobinTitansTowerRobinRobincallimgme no'_

" – and I am just so joyous I feel like a Floating Grumjumber!"

_'No. Impossibility.'_

"Starfire, let the man breathe," Beast Boy walked up behind her and grinned. "How you doing leader? Well, aside from falling through the floor and being knocked out for three days…"

_'Nothing is impossible. You have achieved the impossible. You are alive.'_

"Hey, man," Cyborg and Raven joined Beast Boy. "You were a mess after you and Slade fell through the floor, but you're doing way better now, and we're cleaning the Tower."

_'Error. That was fate. This is facts. This is not possible.'_

Raven added, "Almost every bone in your wrist was broken or fractured. I healed it as best I could, but you still shouldn't put strain on it, atleast for a little while." She turned to Beast Boy and gazed impassively at him. "And as I recall, it was you who collapsed the floor and caused them to fall."

_'Find out. Now. Move.'_

"Hey!" Beast Boy said defensively, "I was fighting Slade's robots! I can't watch everywhere at once!" He glared at Raven indignantly yet still blushed.

_'Yes. Move.'_

"Oh!" Starfire gasped suddenly.

Slade pushed her away and scrambled off the bed. Looking around the room, his vision was very different. Of course if he was Robin…

He lifted his hands to his eyes and felt material. He traced the shape of the mask with his fingers, and, hands trembling slightly, touched the lid of an undamaged right eye. He then dropped to his knees beside a metal stand. Robin stared back at him. He lifted a hand. So did Robin.

Slade started to laugh quietly to himself. This was too good to be true; too unbelievable. Surely it was some sort of bizarre dream? He couldn't be Robin. It was impossible. But…

Starfire crouched down beside him.

"Robin, is something…wrong?" she asked tentatively.

Slade gave it a second's thought, then reached out and touched her shoulder. Definitely real. And definitely not his green-gloved hand.

"No…eh…Starfire," he said softly, lifting a hand and touching Robin's – his – cheek. "Nothing wrong at all…"

**-X-**

It was quiet in the Tower. The silence was almost tangible in the infirmary where Slade lay. The remaining Titans had responded to an alert downtown: Cinderblock had decided to go on a rampage. Predictably, _Robin _was forbidden to go along, as he needed rest.

Slade was lying still on his back, hands clasped on top of his stomach. He might've been asleep.

Actually, he was thinking: Running theories in his head over how this switch possibly could have occurred. Nothing had come to him yet. This didn't remotely bother him. In reality, he wasn't that interested in how it had happened.

Slade breathed deeply and sat up in bed. Pulling out Robin's communicator, he contacted Cyborg, whose face appeared blurry in the tiny screen. Slade saw Starfire raining starbolts down behind him before she disappeared off screen.

"Yo, Robin, this isn't a good time!"

"I'm just checking in. You look like you need backup; I'll –"

"You'll stay at the Tower!" Cyborg yelled over the roars of the fight.

"I could help you –"

"Man, we don't need your help! We can handle this!"

"If you say so…"

"I do! Now bye!"

He broke the connection.

Slade slowly put the communicator away. He sat for a moment longer on the bed, then abruptly stood and exited the room. Taking his time, he explored the remains of the Evidence Room (already under construction) and all five Titans' bedrooms before stopping at the bathroom.

Robin's combat boots sounded on the black and white tiles. Slade walked past the pink towels piled haphazardly in front of the shower, and to the mirror set above the sink. It didn't look as if it had been cleaned in awhile, and had small flecks from where water had hit. Slade had always known the Titans (particularly Beast Boy) weren't the cleanest of individuals, but now it could be an annoyance. They, being teenagers, didn't care what the state of the Tower was, but he, Slade, would need to keep track of certain things…

Slade slowly took in his new reflection. Robin's hair, for once, wasn't spiked up, but hung lank. It looked unnatural, and Slade resolved to wash it soon. Robin's face was heart-shaped, and he had a strong chin. When he wasn't smiling he looked impressively intimidating for someone of his age. _'No, I don't take that back.' _Whether he was smiling or not, Robin had a presence that at all times demanded respect. When he was smiling, it just created a relaxation effect. More than once the Titans had heaved sighs of relief after seeing that their leader was indeed grinning. After all, Robin was somewhat of a loose canon, and Slade had used this to his advantage many times. Then there was Robin's mask. Not only did it add to his mystique, but seemed to inform others that they had no idea who they were dealing with. Because who knew what was going on beneath the surface? Who knew what Robin was hiding behind the mask? No one. But Slade was going to find out.

Slade blinked feeling both eyes working. Then he peeled off the mask.

A memory briefly enveloped him…

'_Daddy! Hey Daddy! Check this out!'_

_I look to the left and se my two boys standing in front of a clown. I walk over._

'_Hey buddy.' I pat my son Joey's curly hair._

'_Dad, watch this!' My other son, Grant, says excitedly._

_I look at the clown. He has ridiculous red hair, and his face is painted completely white save for green patches on his cheeks. The clown is grinning and blowing balloons. He then twists the balloons into different shapes: animals, flowers, hearts._

'_Dad, can we get one?' Joey eagerly looks at the clown, then up at me._

_I quickly hitch a grin onto my face. 'Sure, bud. Who goes to the circus and doesn't get a balloon?'_

'_Thank you, Daddy! I want a blue one! Can you make dogs?'_

'_I want a blue one too!'_

Slade blinked again and came back.

Wonderful, wonderful blue.

* * *

**A/N: **Don't review. I really don't deserve them.

-PenetratingBlackEyes


	4. Tumbling Slate State

**Disclaimer: **I own many Teen Titans comics, as well as Teen Titans DVDs. I do not, however, own the Teen Titans.

**A/N: **First off, I would really like to thank all the people who have actually stuck with the story. I mean I was shocked that I got any reviews at all (especially since I actually told people not to review). But anyway, I'm really going to try my hardest to keep on track now and get new chapters posted as soon as possible. Also, I know that right now it seems to switch chapter by chapter from Robin to Slade, but that could change soon, so don't get that accustomed to it. Also, flashbacks are in italics, as well as Slade talking…it might be kind of confusing. Sorry.

_"Look in the mirror. The face that pins you with its double gaze reveals a chastening secret." – Diane Ackerman_

"_If you hate a person, you hate something in him that is part of yourself. What isn't part of ourselves doesn't disturb us." – Hermann Hesse_

* * *

**Switched**

**Chapter 4: Tumbling Slate State**

Grating sounds. Metal striking metal. Hisses of steam. And beyond it all a stale, threatening silence.

Robin was standing in the middle of a long corridor. His entire body (_except it isn't really __**your **__body is it, huh?)_ was tense as he stood listening for footsteps, and he couldn't see – partially because he now only had one working eye – and because all the lights except the one he was standing under were turned off. He was standing to the side of a door. At last, Robin determined that the old man wasn't around, and slipped off a glove. 

He grimaced as he looked at his new right hand. It was completely unfamiliar to him. Robin pressed the thumb of his (_Slade's!) _hand to a small keypad set to the left of the door, and the door instantly slid into the wall. Remembering how it had taken him two days to figure this out further depressed him. He supposed it had taken him so long because the first time he tried to access a room, and couldn't some part of his mind had screamed, _It wasn't like this the last time I was here!_ and had been promptly shushed. He hadn't even dared look at a door after that. Too many disorienting memories, which had been locked into the very back wells of his mind, were rapidly resurfacing. 

Robin walked into the bathroom and the door slid out of the wall behind him. The bathroom wasn't anything like the one in Titans Tower; it was sophisticated with dark wood tones and marble. Robin didn't at all understand Slade's taste. On the one hand, he seemed to enjoy (or at least prefer) simple, stationary things, like roughly cut stone, and his precious gears; on the other hand he liked things to have presence, and maybe dramatic flair. His fighting style was the same way. Sneaking around, but then delivering condescending, cryptic speeches that wouldn't leave your mind no matter how much meditating you did.

Robin slowly slid down onto the floor. He could still partially see the mirror set above Slade's sink. He had been looking in it quite often over the last few days…

_"Sir! SIR!"_

_Robin looked into the screens and screamed. Only one thought was running through his mind._

'_That's not my face that's not my facethat'snotmyface!'_

"_Sir! Slade, what's wrong?" The elderly man ran up to Robin and grabbed his arm. Looking at him urgently he asked, "Sir, are you hurt?"_

_Robin looked at the man and the scream died on his lips. He slowly formed the words, "What…did…you…call me?" _

_The old man gazed at him for a moment before answering. "Slade, I –"_

_He got nothing else out because at that moment Robin slipped from his grip and fell to the floor. Robin's mind was spinning and blackness was rapidly crawling through his vision. He knew where he was. The last thing he saw before he passed out were the gears churning overhead._

Robin's eyes were slightly filmed over now. He'd been going over these memories excessively over the past few days, as well as before it. The break-in. He tried to remember anything that could have caused this Switch between him and Slade but most of it was a blur. He remembered that the evening before the Titans had rented a movie…it had been Starfire's turn to pick…the movie had been a sappy love story…they had eaten pizza…Raven had left halfway through saying she was going to vomit…He didn't watch the movie…. he had been too busy watching Starfire laugh…

They had gone to bed. He had gone to the kitchen to get a glass of water…

Then he had dreamed a nightmare. And woken up in one. He still wasn't entirely positive that he wasn't still dreaming. That's what he had thought back then, and why he had lost control. Luckily, that old man (_Who was he really, he said his name was Will, but how does he know Slade?)_ had somehow blamed the whole thing on the drugs that he had administered, as well as head trauma. Robin didn't care. He had been trying to avoid the old man – Will? – since he had woken up again.

Robin glanced into the mirror again and resisted the urge to smash it. _That was __**not **__his face._ Some part of him kept snidely asking why he was so upset…after all, hadn't he wanted to see Slade's face? Didn't he lie awake at night thinking about it? What it must look like? What Robin wasn't surprised at was the fact that this voice inside his head was Slade's voice. 

"_Why are you so disgusted, Robin…is it because you actually suspected it to be your face? After all, we are __**so **__much alike…"_

"Shut up…" Robin murmured and dropped his head onto his chest. 

Seeing Slade's face for the first time (except for seeing it in the screens because Robin didn't like thinking about that) in this very mirror hadn't been at all enjoyable, triumphant, or fulfilling. It had been horrible and terrifying. And shocking. Because… Slade was _old. _There was no other way for Robin to describe it. He obviously wasn't elderly, but Robin had always somehow expected him to be younger.

_"Like Bruce, Robin? Do you really compare me that much to your old master? Do you miss having a master? Don't worry, Robin. I'll alleviate that soon."_

He was so much older than him, but Robin could never beat him. Never. He would take him down like he was a 10-year-old who had just earned his black belt. And once he beat him, he lectured him like he was nothing but a troublesome child. Even Bruce couldn't make him feel as inferior as Slade had. He hadn't ever let Bruce.

_"Bruce couldn't control you Robin. I can. Bruce may have raised you, but he doesn't know you like I do. He only knows the smiling boy from the circus. He may think he knows more, but he doesn't. He never even scratched the surface, did he?"_

Slade's hair was white. Robin had shaved off the stubble that had grown while he was unconscious. His face was strong. Robin tried to keep it as blank as possible. He didn't even frown, because he didn't want to see any facial expression on Slade's face. Now that he knew what it looked like, Robin could easily picture the mouth carving into a cold smirk. He never wanted to see that, or even picture it.

_"Tell me something Robin…I wonder what Bruce would say if he ever saw your dark side. What would Batman, who lives in the shadows and craves the night, say if he knew about Red X? How would he react if he knew you embraced the thing he most despises?"_

"I didn't embrace it…I only did it to catch you. I never enjoyed it. Never." Robin sighed and ran his hands wearily over his new hated face, the face that wasn't his. 

Slade's eyes bothered Robin the most. He didn't like feeling or seeing the destroyed eye, even though in some strange way it fascinated him. He wondered constantly how it had happened. Obviously Slade couldn't beat everyone in a fight. Someone, at least once, got the better of him. In some bizarre way, is gave Robin a twisted sense of pleasure. What Robin hated the most about Slade's face though was his other eye. It was slate gray. It was calculating and hard. It was intelligent and cruel. It watched unsuspecting people and helped ensnare them in Slade's devious schemes. It made Robin feel uncomfortable and sick because even though Robin knew that Slade wasn't, couldn't be here, he was looking him in the eye anyway. It made him feel like he wasn't in control.

_"You're not in control, Robin. You can be optimistic and lie to yourself, but we both know the truth. Ever since I first set my eye on you, you were never again in control. You – "_

"SHUT UP!" Robin jumped up and screamed at the mirror. 

"Slade?" A concerned voice came from the other side of the door. 

Robin breathed deeply. He stepped away from the mirror and opened the door. 

"Sir, are you alright?" Will regarded him coolly, eyes narrowed. 

Robin hesitated for the briefest second, then responded in Slade's cold voice, "Of course not, Will. The Titans escaped, but it was narrow. Robin wasn't very impressive."

"Yes, sir. I've brought your morning paper." 

"Thank you, Will."

The elderly man nodded and walked away.

Robin watched him, then glanced down at the newspaper. He gasped as the headline blared out at him:

**TITANS TAKE DOWN CINDERBLOCK**

Robin clutched the sides of the paper with both hands and slowly crumpled it up. There was picture set below the headline. It was a blurry shot of Cinderblock and two figures forcing him back. Starfire and Cyborg. Beast Boy and Raven would have been there too. Robin quickly scanned the article but didn't see his name mentioned anywhere. Slade wasn't there. Good.

Robin released a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. His heart was drumming in his chest. He had thought of the Titans endlessly during the last few days, but this…seeing this…

"I'm going to meet them. I'll let them know what's happened. No matter what."

* * *

**A/N: **Whooo, it's done. Thank goodness. Although, I'm gonna clarify something: For those of you who may have wondered, 'Where's the goatee?', um yeah…it's gone. Not just that Robin shaved it off, but it was never there. Not in this story. Goatees freak me out. And yeah, I got bored so I named all the chapters. I'll probably continue naming them, too. Please review! Thanks.

-PenetratingBlackEyes


	5. Strike Uno

**Disclaimer: **I don't own the Teen Titans, but…

**A/N:** I ONLY HAVE 22 DAYS LEFT OF SCHOOL.

_A thousand enemies outside the house_

_are better than one within. – Arab proverb_

* * *

**Switched**

**Chapter 5: Strike Uno**

The outline of Jump City glowed in the mornings. The sun rose slowly in the distance, illuminating the city's many glass skyscrapers and reflecting across the bay to Titans Tower. Robin loved watching it. It made him feel proud seeing his city and he loved the promise of the new day. He couldn't watch the sunrise now. He woke up on edge with a vague sense of claustrophobia. He hadn't seen the sun in over two weeks. But that was all going to change today.

**-X-**

Slade was on edge as well. Perhaps not in the same sense as Robin, but he was annoyed. Sitting on the roof of Titans Tower, and watching the sunrise was a waste of time. He had plans to carry out.

"Robin?"

Slade turned his head around. Starfire was standing behind him, looking unsure.

"Yeah, Star?" Why did the alien look so nervous? He knew he hadn't done anything suspicious.

"I'm sorry if I interrupted your thinking, but Cyborg wanted to know what the assignments are for today."

"Okay. And you didn't interrupt me. I was about to come down anyway." He gave her a small smile and her face instantly lit up.

"Marvelous! I will go inform Cyborg!" She waved goodbye to him and flew off the roof.

Slade looked out on last time over Robin's city…his city. He gave a real smile and followed Starfire.

**-X-**

Robin hated Slade's kitchen. It was completely stainless steel. Every time he stepped in the room he felt contaminated. If he had been at the Tower he would be eating pancakes and laughing with his friends. Here, he sat by himself in Slade's dining room and had a protein shake.

Robin was waiting impatiently for the old man to come in. Every day he would enter the dining room, quietly walk up to the table, take Robin's empty glass and give him the morning paper. He would then ask "Is that all, sir?" Robin would break the norm today and answer "no" instead of "yes" and then he's say –

"Sir, is that all?"

Robin started. The paper was in front of him. The old man had his glass.

"Uh…no." This wasn't going as planned. He had meant to be cavalier about it.

"Lost in thought, sir?" His tone was crisp. That meant this wasn't usual.

"No, Will. Although I have been thinking about things." _I have to steer him back. I can't slip anymore. He'll know._

"Such as?" Still crisp. How often does Slade break the norm? How often does he do anything really?

"I'm going outside today, Will." How often does Slade do anything? Does he go outside? Or only when he has a job?

"Shall you be taking the Bentley or the Rolls Royce?"

_Actually, I was thinking the Jaguar today Alfred. Bruce won't mind will he? _"I'll be walking today."

"Really? May I ask what you will be doing?"

The Titans hadn't been in the paper these last few days. The city was quiet. Resting. Slade wasn't resting. He never rests.

"Checking up on some things." _He never rests. I can't rest either._

"Quite, sir."

He left. Robin hadn't noticed the dismissal in his voice. He was sure Slade always recognized it.

**-X-**

Slade walked into the ops room and was quickly ambushed by Beast Boy.

"Robin! Dude, you know what we should do today?"

Slade pushed the green boy away and sat down on a stool. "What, BB?"

He shot a look at Cyborg who grinned and shook his head.

"HIT THE BEACH!"

Beast Boy pointed excitedly at the ocean through the wall length window and then at the ridiculous orange swimsuit he was wearing.

"Doesn't it make you want to vomit?" Raven was standing behind the counter also looking at Beast Boy's suit.

"No. It already looks like vomit." He grinned. Cyborg roared with laughter.

"Dude!" Beast Boy whined, his shoulders drooping.

"Do not fear, Beast Boy!" Starfire exclaimed, putting an arm around his shoulders. "I think your suit for swimming is a wonderful color!"

Beast Boy's ears perked up. "Really, Star?"

"Yes! It is the exact same color as the mustard I found in the refrigerator yesterday."

"Uh…Star?" Cyborg asked, staring at her.

"Yes?"

"Mustard…isn't orange."

"Disgusting."

Everyone turned to look at Raven, who was bent over the fridge. She stood up holding a tube of mustard. There was peeling crust around the opening.

"Ewww!" Beast Boy and Cyborg yelled in unison.

Then everyone burst out laughing. Slade gave a tight-lipped smile. He hadn't completely mastered Robin's laugh yet.

Quietly, while the other Titans were laughing and being rowdy, he slipped off the stool and moved back into the hallway. He had been planning to stop by Cyborg's room…but Raven had followed him.

Raven was the only Titan who required his attention. He knew he mimicked Robin almost perfectly – and soon it would be perfectly – and he knew he had the Titans completely fooled. He played along with Beast Boy's antics, trained and competed with Cyborg, flirted with Starfire, and had quiet talks with Raven. They suspected nothing.

But, of course, one must always be prepared. If he became too arrogant and lost focus, his plan could be derailed by the most insignificant detail. In this case, Raven was a very large detail. She wasn't suspicious at the moment, but if he ever slipped up even slightly she could easily find out that he wasn't really Robin. Right now he was safe, because he knew Raven would never look into Robin's mind without his consent. However, if he started to behave abnormally, there was a high chance he would be discovered. Always remembering this, he turned to face Raven.

"Hey," he said.

"Hi." Her hood was down and she was gazing calmly at him. "You all right?"

"Yeah. I just can't deal with Beast Boy today." He smiled at her.

She gave him a small smile back. "Be grateful. He was being an even bigger idiot before you arrived."

He gave a small laugh. Pitch-perfect. "I believe you. Anyway, can you go tell him sorry, but we're not hitting the beach today? We still have lots of cleanup to do."

She nodded. "Is that where you're going?"

"Yeah. I'm just going to finish cataloging everything that survived in the Evidence Room. Tell BB and Star to finish up the Gym, Cyborg I'll be there soon to help him set up the new camera system, and you can do whatever you want."

"Replace BB and make him actually clean his room?"

"Sure." He turned to walk away, but she restrained him by gently putting her hand on his elbow. He turned around again.

"Hey," her voice was quieter and serious again. "Are you okay?"

"Totally."

"We're working as hard as we can to track down Slade, Robin. We'll find him."

"I know, Raven. I'm not upset about it anymore."

"That's a lie."

"Yeah. But, I really am fine Raven. Thanks."

She let go of his arm. "Alright…"

She backed away and walked back into the ops room. The door slid shut behind her, and Slade was finally alone. He was going to the Titans' Evidence Room, but first he needed to stop by Cyborg's bedroom…plans were finally being set in motion.

**-X-**

Robin breathed deeply, in and out. Inhale. Exhale. The sun rained down, making Slade's hair shine pure white. There is nothing, absolutely nothing, like breathing fresh air after confinement. After being stuck underground for two weeks, always on tenterhooks with nothing to do but brood, breathing the fresh city air was a euphoric high. He felt reinvigorated, reborn. The sparkling city seemed to welcome him back and breathe with him.

He had been outside for about an hour now. He had left Slade's Haunt, telling Will he would be back at nightfall. If things went well today, he would never go back there again.

He was walking through the park now. Treading the path, he watched the people of Jump City as they played basketball, ate picnics, played on swings, or just sat around enjoying someone's company. The park was a nice place. It was just a detour though. He was heading somewhere even more familiar.

He needed a plan though. He had subconsciously been forming, then rejecting them all afternoon. How was he to tell the Titans? He couldn't just walk into the Tower now. With Slade there, he would never get close to them. But, he had an idea he thought just might work. It was the only thing that he thought in this current condition would work.

He had thought of it this morning, actually. The reason he had been trying to come up with other plans was because he hated it. It was an awful idea in many respects, insane in others. He was delaying putting it into action as long as possible. He was trying to distract himself with walking the park and watching citizens enjoy their afternoon, completely carefree. He might've worked if he hadn't been able to see the Tower from here. You could see it anywhere from the city, because that was the point. It was there to send a message – it said that the city was being watched over.

Slade was in that Tower now, Slade was in his home, with _his _things, and _his _friends, and he wasn't resting. He wasn't strolling through a park smiling at people on picnics.

Robin didn't feel distracted anymore. He felt ready. The only question left now was where to commit his crime?

**-X-**

Slade was sitting perched on a box in the Titans' Evidence Room, flipping through a sheaf of paper. One sheet listed every item that hadn't been completely destroyed during his raid on the Tower. Another listed every item that had been in there before. Slade was slowly eliminating everything that couldn't have caused his and Robin's switch. He was about halfway through when the alarm went off. Trouble.

**-X-**

Robin was running. Slade's arms were pumping at his sides, and he was knocking alarmed citizens out of the way. Screams were coming from a block away. Robin had just shoved past a young couple, mouths agape, when an explosion rocked the street, and he stumbled and slammed against a parked car. More screams sounded and the crowd began panicking to get out of the way. Robin pushed himself up again, but now he was moving even slower as everyone pushed him back away from the trouble.

Another explosion, a louder one, and glass from a nearby office building rained down on the streets. Robin looked up toward the sky. He saw a huge mass of metal before being forced down again as pieces of office building smashed to the pavement below. Robin could hardly see around the screaming people. He had to help but he was being forced down; he had to help…!

"ADONIS!"

The fight was quick and brutal. Starfire rained luminous starbolts down on him, and Cyborg jumped on him from behind. They fell to the street and when they hit the ground trembled. Adonis grabbed Cyborg and threw him toward the crowd, but a transformed Beast Boy caught him. Starfire continued her attack, distracting Adonis effectively for a series of heavy explosions to rock him from behind. Smoke plumed and Adonis flew out of it. He hit the street ten feet away and was pursued by Raven. She stopped above, lifted her hands out in front of her and her eyes burned black. She opened her mouth and Robin knew exactly what she was saying. Black energy crackled from her hands and engulfed Adonis's metal suit. She lifted him into the air and let go. Before he even fell an inch, a T-Rex Beast Boy chomped down on him. Hit suit cracked. Beast Boy transformed again, and lowered him to the ground. It was over.

Robin was in shock. His team was here. They had just taken down a criminal. Without him…strangely it seemed unthinkable.

The crowd was all standing up now. They were cheering and clapping and streaming toward the Titans. The city police were here too. How strange to be watching this from the outside.

But he wasn't on the outside. He was in the center of the fray, standing next to the fallen Adonis. Robin could hear his heart pulsing. His breathing was shallow, and he was again being shoved aside, but he wasn't aware of it. He was staring at himself.

Robin was talking to a Jump City officer. Then he walked back to where the other Titans were helping load Adonis up in his prison escort. Starfire ran over and hugged him. He hugged her back.

Robin stepped forward two steps and then froze. Slade looked up from hugging Starfire and locked eyes with him. Like it sometimes does in life, time stopped, and that single second where they stared at each other, and Slade sized him up with a look of surprised curiosity seemed to go on forever. Then Slade smiled, and lifted his hand slightly. Raised it. He was…waving.

Then the second was gone, and so was Robin. He was running back to the Haunt. He needed a new plan.

* * *

**A/N: **Review please! Oh, and I saw Iron Man on Friday – it rocked! Go see it!

-PenetratingBlackEyes


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